ABQjournal: Gift to PAC Aids Land Boss

ABQjournal: Gift to PAC Aids Land Boss:
LAS CRUCES— A political action committee received thousands of dollars in contributions from a developer who was dealing with the state Land Office last fall, then reported giving similar amounts on the same days to the re-election campaign of Land Commissioner Patrick Lyons.
According to records on file with the secretary of state:

On Aug. 7, developer Philip Philippou of Las Cruces gave $10,000 to the Santa Fe-based Blue & Red PAC. The same day, the PAC gave $7,500 to the Committee to Re-Elect Pat Lyons.

On Sept. 8, Philippou gave the Blue & Red PAC a contribution of $10,500. The same day, Blue & Red gave $8,000 to Lyons' re-election campaign and spent $2,142.50 on campaign T-shirts for Lyons.

Lyons signed a potentially lucrative no-bid contract with Philippou on Dec. 26 to master-plan a 4,200-acre tract of state trust land and seek its annexation by Las Cruces.